Elliott Academy of Excellence

Free Family Inductive Bible Study Guide for Advent

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 23:30:00 +0000

The files for Eleanor Zweigle's 2018 Family Inductive Bible Study Guide for Advent are available for download here. Advent begins tomorrow, and this family study is a wonderful way to focus on Christ during the Christmas season. Homeschoolers may also use it for Bible study. There are coloring pages for young children, but the guide can be used by the entire family. It is a great way to learn or brush up on the inductive Bible study method.

Homemade Alfredo Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Tue, 09 Jun 2015 10:00:00 +0000

I will be posting some recipes that I made for my daughter's graduation party. The delicious marinara sauce in the above photo is from Planner Perfect Meals.

I used penne for the pasta, keeping it warm by turning a slow cooker into a double boiler. I put about an inch to an inch and a half of water in the bottom of the slow cooker and set a foil pan inside to hold the pasta. My pan was too large to fit all the way inside, so I covered it with foil instead of the slow cooker lid. I kept the temperature on high the entire time, but I probably would have turned it to low if I had a pan that fit. I would recommend finding a pan that fits and raising it from the bottom of the crockpot by using foil balls or a shallow heat-safe container. I tossed the cooked pasta in a little olive oil to keep it from drying out.

Below is the alfredo sauce recipe I made for the party.

Homemade Alfredo Sauce

makes about 2 quarts

Ingredients

2 egg yolks
2 cups half & half
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 TB arrowroot, flour, or cornstarch
1 quart heavy cream
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white or black pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 oz cream cheese
1/2 lb parmesan, grated (about 2 cups, I think)

Instructions

Whisk egg yolks and half & half in a small bowl.
Melt butter on medium heat, add garlic, and cook until fragrant (a minute or two).
Whisk in arrowroot, flour or cornstarch.
Whisk in egg yolk/half & half mixture. Heat up a bit.
Add cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
Heat on medium or medium hight heat until thickened, whisking frequently (constantly as it gets warmer). Don't let it boil.
Melt in cream cheese.
Add parmesan a little at a time, making sure it is melted in thoroughly.

Notes

Egg yolks may be omitted, but they add to the creamy texture.
You could use all half & half or a mix of cream and whole milk or half & half and whole milk. Just make sure you use something with fat or it will take forever to thicken.
Can be made ahead of time and refrigerated. Will probably last up to 5 days in refrigerator. I think it would freeze well as long as you whisk it really well when reheating and reheat it slowly. Don't let it boil.

Two Homemade Popcorn Seasoning Recipes

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 22:07:00 +0000

We served popcorn with a couple of homemade seasonings at our daughter's recent graduation party, and I thought I would share the recipes here.

Nacho Taco Popcorn Seasoning

adapted from Whole New Mom's "Dorito"-Flavored Popcorn

Ingredients

5 TB nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon garlic powder or granules
1 teaspoon onion powder or granules
1 tsp paprika (smoked paprika is amazing)
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp sea salt

Instructions

Combine ingredients in a blender or coffee grinder and blend to make a fine powder.
Store in a cool, dry place.

Spicy Ranch Popcorn Seasoning

adapted from Natural Chow's Cool Ranch Flavored Popcorn

Ingredients

5 TB nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp garlic powder or granules
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried chives (or add extra onion powder)
1/4 tsp dill

Instructions

Combine ingredients in a blender or coffee grinder and blend to make a fine powder.
Store in a cool, dry place.

Lunar Eclipses

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Photo from total lunar eclipse on 2/20/2008

If you are looking for an intriguing hands-on astronomy study, lunar eclipses are absolutely fascinating. We were able to get some photos of the total lunar eclipse in February of 2008. Why is it always freezing when we attempt to view an eclipse anyway?

About two-thirds of lunar eclipses are able to be seen with the naked eye, depending on where you live. This makes them really fun to study. The next total lunar eclipse is expected on April 15, 2014. Check out the NASA Eclipse Website for information.

Here are some informative lunar eclipse links:

Technical Information at NASA

Lunar Eclipses for Beginners at Mr.Eclipse.com

Observe a Lunar Eclipse (animation)

Lunar Eclipse (another animation)

Old post published on 12/20/10

There is a lunar eclipse tonight (or early tomorrow morning depending on your time zone) that will be best viewed in North America. The eclipse will begin at 5:29 UT (12:29 a.m. EST on 12/21/10 and 9:29 p.m. PST on 12/20/10).

Here are some links about the upcoming eclipse:

Holiday Treat: December's Total Lunar Eclipse Is Best One Until 2014

December 21 Lunar Eclipse at Mr.Eclipse.com - includes diagrams of the eclipse for each time zone

Free Online PSAT Test Prep

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 10:00:00 +0000

I realized that this free PSAT prep post is popular, but it is outdated. I believe that Kaplan still offers their online PSAT prep for free a few weeks before the PSAT test date in October every year, so feel free to check the link below. However, I thought it would be a good idea to update this post with resources that are free all of the time. It isn't too soon for students in ninth or tenth grade to begin preparing for the PSAT.

CollegeBoard's PSAT Preparing Section: Of course, the sponsoring organization, CollegeBoard, is a great place to start for PSAT information and prep. You will find explanations and practice questions for each section.

TestPrepPractice.net: Tutorials and Practice Tests for each section

Peterson's Free PSAT Practice: Your student will have to sign up for a free StudentEdge account to access the test. If you are a homeschooler, just click "Don't have an access code?," select the role, and choose "I am Home Schooled" below the high school search box.

Test Prep Review PSAT Practice: Scroll down for several self-assessment modules. The answers are below the questions. You may also sign up for a "Free PSAT Tip of the Day" e-mail.

Old post from 9/30/10

This fall's PSAT is in a couple of weeks, but this definitely looks like a worthwhile resource, even if it is "last-minute."

Kaplan is offering a "Free last-minute SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, and SAT Prep" section of their website that includes a code to access their Online PSAT Prep for free! It is regularly $99 and includes evaluation for customized practice, video explanations for all of the test topics, over 900 practice problems, and more. Go to this website and look under the PSAT column (center column).

There are also several websites with free practice helps and lessons for the SAT, PSAT, and ACT.

Enjoy! I already signed up my eleventh-grade son.

Christian Audio's Free Download of the Month Program

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Sun, 15 Dec 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Christianaudio.com offers a free download every month. Just go to their website, enter your e-mail address, and click "Download" to receive the latest freebie.

Two Simple Cookie Recipes for Cut-out Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 18:26:00 +0000

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose or whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
granulated sugar

Directions:
Mix powdered sugar, margarine, egg, vanilla and almond extract. Mix in flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Heat oven to 375 F. Divide dough into halves. Roll each half 3/16 inch thick on lightly floured cloth-covered board. Cut into shapes.

Sprinkle with granulated sugar (I don't do this); place on lightly greased sheet. Bake until edges are light brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Makes about 5 dozen 2-inch cookies.

Christmas Molding Dough
This recipe is from my mom, and it's great for children! You can keep working the dough and the cookies still turn out.

Ingredients:
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix until well blended.Cover and refrigerate for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Heat oven to 350 F. Roll out 1/4 inch thick on lightly floured surface. Cut into shapes. Place on an ungreased sheet. Bake until edges are light brown, 10-15 minutes.

Summer Reading Contests and Programs

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 20:41:00 +0000

Yes, she really was reading and stirring!

When I began preparing this post on summer reading contests, I came across an article about the potential negative effects of incentive-based reading programs: A Closer Look at Reading Incentive Programs (click the link to read the article).

I think the article brings up some points that are worth considering. I am still going to post the links to summer reading programs because my children will read this summer regardless of incentives, and I think there are many children who love to read and would have fun with these programs.

As always, use your discretion as to the types of websites you allow your children to visit, the programs themselves, book choices, and whether you think an incentive-based program might be detrimental for your reader(s).

Scholastic Summer Challenge: Kids ages 7 and up sign up for their school and log their reading minutes. Schools that log the most minutes will be published in the 2011 edition Scholastic Book of World Records. There is a check box for homeschoolers. This is an interactive site, although there are strict privacy rules in place. Kids are placed in groups by book genre interest and can make a profile and interact on message boards, take polls, etc.

Barnes & Noble Summer Reading: Children in grades 1-6 download a Summer Reading Journal to keep track of the books they read and record their favorite parts. Return the completed form (8 books) to a local Barnes & Noble for a free book by 9/7/10 (books are pre-selected by age and based on local availability).

Homeschool Buyer's Co-op: You must be a member (free) for your children to participate in this summer reading contest for homeschoolers. Parents log their kids' reading hours, book titles, and optional reviews every day at the Daily Reading Record. The Reading Champions page lists everyone's reading hours, book titles, and reviews, which is nice for kids who are looking for book ideas. Every Tuesday starting on June 8, they will do a drawing for a $15 Amazon gift certificate. In September, they will do a drawing for an Apple iPad. Homeschooled children ages 1 through 18 may participate.

Book It! Summer Reading: Children who were in grades K-6 during the 2009-2010 school year may fill out an entry form and mail it in after reading 5 books for a chance to win a prize package. Homeschooled students are eligible to participate (I checked via e-mail). Entries must be received by 8/23/10.

Don't forget to check your local libraries, stores, and restaurants. Most libraries offer summer reading programs, and it can't hurt to keep an eye open at other public places you frequent.

Resurrection Day Activities

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:02:00 +0000

Photo Credit: Rob Elliott

As followers of Christ, our family believes that it is valuable to spend some extra time to celebrate Resurrection Sunday. We try to live for Jesus every day, remembering His sacrifice and victory, but this gives us a chance to refocus and meditate anew on His love and saving grace.

There are many wonderful family activities on the web for this time of year.

Holy Experience has a few family Easter activities that I would like to do this year:

Easter Garden
Easter Tree (how to make one, devotionals and artwork - parents should check the image for Day 1 before showing your children)
Box of Repentance

My post from last year includes several links to Resurrection Day activities:

Resurrection Day Links (I made sure the links were working and updated some)

Easy Fun School has a Passover unit study that looks great:

Celebrating Easter: A Passover Unit Study

Biblical Holidays has information on Passover and instructions for a Messianic Passover Seder:

Enjoy this season of celebration and hope with your family!

Planning the Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:36:00 +0000

I have been busy trying to plan my garden for this summer. There is nothing like a little spring weather for some inspiration!

I really have to order my seeds this weekend so that I can be sure I have them in time to start my indoor plants. I haven't had much success with seed starting yet, but I keep trying.

I thought I would share a few gardening sites that I like:

Vegetable Gardening Online
Econobusters shared this link in a recent newsletter. This website is full of information for beginning gardeners, including free garden plans using the square foot gardening method, garden planning worksheets to download, plant profiles, various types of gardens, and a free online garden planner. The online garden planner allows you to choose a garden size and drag vegetables and fruits to various squares. It even shows you how many vegetables to plant per square! You can design a garden using tips throughout the website, name it, and print it out.

Little House in the Suburbs
You will find the feed to this blog in my sidebar because it is one of my favorites. They have quite a few gardening tips along with a lot of free gardening printables (scroll down and look through old posts for the garden printables or just scroll through the garden category), including several square foot garden plans with instructions. The most recent printable is a free Spring Planner (instructions here).

Organic Gardening
I don't subscribe to the magazine, but I do receive Organic Gardening's e-newsletter. Their website many helpful articles.

I also have an old gardening post that has some other helpful gardening links.

Black History Month Resources

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 11:00:00 +0000

This is an edited repost from 2008.

February is Black History Month in the United States. This is a great time for educators to focus in on an aspect of our history that does not always receive thorough treatment in textbooks. I have posted many helpful links for in-depth study of African-American history, as well as an inexpensive homeschool resource that our family really enjoys.

I haven't completely gone through all of these sites, so please use discretion and do some previewing!

These two sites contain many links for studying African American history:

Awesome Stories is a favorite resource in our homeschool. "Enjoy an interactive learning experience as you see thousands of hand-selected and relevant links to pictures, artifacts, manuscripts, documents and other primary sources, IN CONTEXT, within each story." This is a huge site with tons and tons of information. If you haven't seen it, it is well worth looking at. I signed up for the free academic membership a few years ago, which gives you access to narrated stories, lesson plans, text documents, etc. Here are some of the Awesome Stories links related to Black History Month:

Amazing Grace: The Story Behind the Movie
Slave Voices
Black History Month (A-I) and Black History Month (J-Z) (some of these will link to chapters in the above topic - they are "focused topic" lists)
Slavery and the Slave Trade (A-F) and Slavery and the Slave Trade (G-Z) (focused topic lists)
Civil Rights (a focused topic list)
American Civil War (A-I) and American Civil War (J-Z) (focused topic lists)

For Older Students:

PBS: Africans in America: This is a very informative PBS website. I was amazed at the amount of information here! There is also a PBS video series by this name that I was able to obtain from my local library. It is also available at Netflix.
PBS: African American World: Your guide to African American history and culture
Black History at History.com
The Underground Railroad (interactive National Geographic site)
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African: If you saw the movie "Amazing Grace," this is the autobiography of Olaudah Equiano, one of the people featured in the movie.

For Younger Students:

Educational Bookmarks for Black History Month
Culture and Change: Black History in America (Scholastic site)

About Africa:

PBS: Wonders of the African World
PBS: Africa for Kids
PBS: Kids Africa
Xpeditions Printable Map of Africa (I had to include at least one map! You can customize this one for printing.)

Although this post highlights free resources for Black History Month, I would be remiss if I didn't mention fellow homeschooler Belinda Bullard's Christ-centered, literature-based history curriculum, written from an African American perspective. Her products and samples are available at A Blessed Heritage Educational Resources.

We supplemented our Tapestry of Grace Year 2 and Year 3 curriculum with This Far by Faith, Volume 1. We are currently using This Far by Faith, Volume 2 as our main history curriculum, supplemented by Tapestry of Grace Year 3 and Year 4 selections and some extra work for our high school students. I highly recommend this inexpensive resource if you are interested in adding an African American focus to your history studies.

Belinda has also written a unit study called A Historical Walk through the Harlem Renaissance that we will be purchasing once we get to the 1920s. I am really excited about it!

Enjoy!

Experiments in Soap Making

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:19:00 +0000

It seems that I am always experimenting with something or other. I am always trying to learn how to make things, be it food, cleaning products, hygiene products, or more obscure (weird?) items. Last summer, I decided to try my hand at soap making. I made plain, unscented soap for bathing and some lard-based soap (scented) to use in my homemade laundry soap. I was pretty pleased with those batches. The bars don't look great, but they work! :-)

Since then, I have wanted to try to make my own dish soap and shampoo. We used the unscented bath soap bar to wash our hair for a few days when we ran out of shampoo. That actually worked really well. I had to use apple cider vinegar as a kind of conditioner for my hair with this method. I put it in a spray bottle, sprayed it on my hair in the shower, and rinsed it out.

Since we are used to liquid shampoos with scents, I tried to convert my laundry soap bars into liquid for that purpose without much success. The unscented bath bars suds up more, and we really do like the suds for our hair even if they aren't necessary. I also tried the liquid for dishes, but I didn't really like it.

I finally ordered potassium hydroxide to make liquid soap, my latest experiment. I am quite a ways into my first batch as I type. Liquid soap is definitely more time-consuming than bar soap! I'll let you know how it turns out when I'm finished.

In the meantime, I thought I would share some soap-making links in case anyone is interested. These are all cold process soap links (cold process soap has to cure for several weeks to neutralize the lye before it is ready for use). I will add liquid soap making links to my liquid soap post.

Homestead Crafts at The Family Homestead (scroll down for the soap making info): I was first inspired to try making soap by reading about it at The Family Homestead. I used Crystal's Simple Soap Recipe for the bath soap and Crystal's Lard Soap for Laundry (same page, last recipe). I added about 1 ounce of lavender essential oil to the laundry soap.
down to earth has a really helpful soap tutorial with pictures.
Miller's Homemade Soap Pages is *the* place to go for cold-pressed soap making information! I used Kathy Miller's Soap Classic recipe for my latest batch of cold-pressed soap with orange blossom and lavender essential oils (the kids begged me for a scented bath soap). That will be curing for a few weeks, so we haven't used it yet. It smells great, though.
Grandpappy's Homemade Soap Recipe: This is how they made soap in the "old days." The recipe includes instructions for making your own lye and rendering your own animal fat.

Menu Plan Monday - October 19

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:00:00 +0000

I'm only posting dinners this week. If you would like to see our breakfasts, lunches and cooking notes, you can look on my menu plan calendar.

Monday

Ground Beef & Cabbage over brown rice, steamed green beans

Tuesday

Potato Sausage Chowder, salad

Wednesday

Chicken Enchiladas, some kind of veggie

Thursday

Salmon Patties, baked fries, steamed broccoli (didn't make last week because I didn't have salmon!)

Friday

spaghetti with meat sauce, salad

Saturday

Chicken Pot Pie, probably an additional veggie on the side

Sunday

Beef Stroganoff, salad

To see many more menu plans, go to this week's Menu Plan Monday at I'm An Organizing Junkie!

White and Green Chili

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:17:00 +0000

I was going to make salmon melts today, but I don't have any salmon! So much for efficient menu planning!

Since Katie at Kitchen Stewardship is holding an October Fest Carnival of Super Foods, I decided to try to throw together something quick, tasty, and nutritious for tonight's dinner. This is an even more nutrition-packed twist on your basic White Chili, and I think it is pretty delicious. It was a really quick meal for me because I already had cooked chicken and homemade chicken broth in the freezer, and I had just cooked a huge batch of white beans to replenish my freezer stash.

I am entering this recipe in the October Fest Carnival of Super Foods: SUPER FOODS Fest.

White and Green Chili

Servings: about 8

Ingredients:

1 TB coconut oil, palm fruit oil, or butter
1-2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 to 1 small jalapeno, finely chopped
3-4 cups cooked, cubed turkey or chicken (or about 1 lb ground turkey, browned)
3-4 cups cooked white beans
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp white pepper (you can use black)
3-4 cups homemade chicken broth
1-2 medium tomatoes, chopped (you can substitute canned)
1 tsp sea salt
2 cups Swiss chard, kale or spinach (or more - I just keep adding it until it looks "right")

Directions:

1. Heat oil on medium and add onions, garlic, and jalapeno. Sauté until onion is translucent.
2. Add meat, beans, and spices, and cook until fragrant.
3. Add chicken broth and tomatoes and simmer until heated through, then salt to taste.
4. Add Swiss chard (or dark green of your choice) and cook until wilted.
5. Serve with optional plain yogurt, shredded cheese, and mashed avocado.

Super Foods: 6-7 (6 if you use chicken, 7 if you use turkey)
Honorable Mentions: 1-2 (2 if you serve with avocado)

This is a pretty forgiving recipe: If you don't have some of the vegetables, you can easily leave them out and still have a yummy soup. You could also add other vegetables.

Menu Plan Monday - October 12

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:58:00 +0000

I'm only posting dinners this week. If you would like to see our breakfasts, lunches and cooking notes, you can look on my menu plan calendar.

Monday

Chicken Pot Pie

Tuesday

Katie's Simple Cabbage Soup

Wednesday

Beefy Enchilada Bake, salad

Thursday

Salmon Patties, baked fries, steamed broccoli

Friday

Pizza Pasta Casserole, salad

Saturday

Black Bean Chili, cornbread or brown rice, steamed green beans

Sunday

TBD

To see many more menu plans, go to this week's Menu Plan Monday at I'm An Organizing Junkie!

Menu Plan Monday - October 5

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:54:00 +0000

Monday

Breakfast: toast w/peanut butter, hard-boiled eggs
Lunch: leftover soup
Dinner: out for our anniversary

Tuesday

Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: sandwiches or leftovers
Dinner: Garam Masala Red Lentil Soup

Wednesday

Breakfast: blender batter pancakes, apple slices
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: baked tilapia with veggies

Thursday

Breakfast: kefir smoothies, muffins
Lunch: sandwiches
Dinner: chicken pot pie

Friday

Breakfast: cooked millet
Lunch: leftovers or sandwiches
Dinner: red beans & rice

Saturday

Breakfast: pancakes, eggs
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Mother & Daughter Tea Party

Sunday

Breakfast: toast, hard-boiled eggs
Lunch/Dinner: something on the barbecue

My menu plan calendar is available here if you are interested in seeing it. I keep that current each day when meals change (as they often do). It also includes daily cooking notes. I have it set up to send me an agenda via e-mail every day, which is very helpful.

For more menu plans, go to orgjunkie.com.

Red Beans and Rice

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:54:00 +0000

This recipe calls for precooked and frozen items. Please see the notes below for alternate ways to prepare this recipe as well as some informational/recipe links.

Red Beans & Rice
Servings: at least 6

Ingredients:

1 TB palm fruit oil, coconut oil or olive oil (the first 2 options are better, IMO)
1 onion, chopped ($0.15)
1 cup celery, diced ($0.33 to $0.83)
1/2 cup green peppers, diced ($0.50? - depends on season)
2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.04)
1 lb homemade turkey sausage, breakfast sausage or smoked sausage (about $2 for the homemade turkey sausage)
1 t oregano
1 t thyme
1/2 t basil
1/2 t black pepper
1/8 to 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, optional
2 cups homemade chicken stock (about $0.10?)
2 bay leaves
2 cups cooked red beans ($0.34 to 0.66)
2 cups cooked brown rice ($0.47 to 0.85)

(cost of spices: $0.25?)

1. Heat oil in a large skillet or pot while you chop your onion and celery.

2. Add onion and celery and saute on medium heat until fragrant.

3. Add garlic and saute for a few seconds, then add sausage IF using breakfast sausage (if you are using smoked sausage you will add it later). Break up sausage while it cooks.

4. When sausage is cooked through, add oregano, thyme, basil and black pepper and mix in.

5. Add chicken broth, bay leaves, red beans and rice (and sausage if using smoked sausage). Stir, bring to a boil, turn heat down to medium or medium-low and cook until the chicken broth is evaporated (you will have to stir it so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan).

6. Serve and enjoy! A green salad or raw vegetables are great sides for this dish.

Approximate Cost: $4.18 to $5.38 for at least 6 servings, depending on where you live and the types of vegetables, beans, rice, and meat used; the higher price is for organic beans, rice and veggies in my area.

Options

Cook your rice separately (preferably in broth) and serve the beans over the rice - I prefer to make this a one-skillet meal.
Skip the chicken broth if you are using cooked beans and rice. You won't want to use the bay leaf if you do this. The chicken broth does add nutrients and flavor!
Skip the sausage and use vegetable broth to make this a vegetarian meal. The sausage adds a ton of flavor, though. You may want to up the spices to taste if you do this.
Cut the amount of meat in half to reduce the cost of this meal by $1.
Partially cook your rice in 3/4 the recommended amount of broth or water and add it partially cooked. It will absorb most of the chicken stock.
Substitute 1-2 cans of red beans for cooked dried beans. This will increase the cost.

Don't have cooked beans and rice?

Cooking Beans
The day before, pick through and rinse 1 pound of red beans. Put beans in your cooking pot (or you can use a glass bowl if you prefer), fill pot with water, covering beans with at least 2 inches of water. Add 2-4 TB of whey, lemon juice or vinegar. Soak overnight. In the morning, drain your soaking water (supposed to help with digestibility of beans). Cover your beans with at least 2 inches of water again, add 2-3 tsp of sea salt, bring to a boil, turn heat down to simmer and cook for 1-2 hours, until beans are soft. Drain beans, use 2 cups for the red beans & rice, cool, and freeze the rest in 2-cup (or preferred amount) portions.

If you don't mind freezing your beans and rice together, then add 3 cups of rice to the beans at the beginning of the soaking process and follow the rest of the directions, but freeze in 4-cup portions.

Cooking Brown Rice
Soaking is optional, but I soak 2 cups of brown rice with 2 1/4 cups of water with 1 TB of whey, lemon juice, or vinegar in the morning in the same pot I will cook the rice in. When it is time to cook, I add 2 1/4 cups of chicken broth or water and 1 tsp of salt; stir, bring to a boil, turn heat to low, and cook covered for about 45 minutes. You can use 1 cup of rice and 2 1/4 cups of liquid for this recipe, but why not make extra and freeze the extra? You can cook 3 cups of brown in 6 3/4 cups of liquid if you want about 4 extra cups to freeze.

From the Freezer

I cook 1 to 2 pounds of beans at a time when I need them and freeze leftovers in 2-cup portions. I also cook extra brown rice when I am using brown rice for a recipe and freeze that in 2-cup portions. Look for directions at the bottom of the page for cooking the beans and/or rice.

I also freeze onions, green peppers, and celery ahead of time. Onions and green peppers do not have to be blanched before freezing. I have also read that blanching celery is not necessary as long as you are going to use it within about 3 months, but I cannot find the source. Download the University of Georgia's Freezing Vegetables guide (pdf) for a lot of information on freezing vegetables.

I buy a lot of ground turkey at one time, make it into homemade turkey sausage, and freeze it in 1-pound portions. You can also use breakfast sausage, smoked sausage or kielbasa for this recipe.

I make 4 to 8 quarts of homemade chicken stock (scroll down the linked page for recipe) at one time. I freeze this in various sized containers (ice cubes, 1-cup, 2-cup, and 4-cup sizes).

This recipe has been entered in the October Fest Carnival of Super Foods: Beans and Legumes Recipes, hosted by Kitchen Stewardship.

Freezing Tomatoes

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:23:00 +0000

We have had a fairy cool summer in Michigan this year, and the garden definitely reflected the temperatures. I had planned to can my tomatoes, but I really haven't been able to harvest enough at one time. I decided that I would freeze them. It is so easy! The National Center for Home Food Preservation has tons of information on preserving foods, including freezing. The section on freezing tomatoes is here. However, I don't like to remove the skins from my tomatoes because of the nutritional benefits of retaining the skins. I also decided it would save me time and grind the skins better if I used a blender.

Here are the choices for freezing your tomatoes with the skins intact:

just stick them in a container and freeze (yes, you can do this!)
quarter them, put them in a container, and freeze
blend them, put them in a container, and freeze
quarter or eighth them, then cook & cool them, put them in a container, and freeze
blend, cook, cool, put in a container, and freeze (my choice)

If you want to remove the skins, you can put the tomatoes in already boiling water for 30 seconds, cool them, and slide the skins off; or you can cook the tomatoes first and push the cooked tomatoes through a sieve or use a food mill after cooking. Pushing the tomatoes through a sieve after cooking will also remove the seeds.

Here is what you need for my method:

a blender or food processor (a stick blender would work, but I think a regular blender is better at grinding the skins)
a knife
a large pot (unless you want to freeze them uncooked)
freezer containers or bags
tomatoes

Pick the tomatoes (or buy them at great deals when they are in season). Aren't they pretty?

Wash, core, and quarter or halve the tomatoes. If you have a powerful blender, then you can probably skip the quartering or halving. Note: I wash all of my tomatoes and put the first couple in the blender while I core the rest of them. I have to start with a couple of quarters, but as the blender gets full I can halve them and sometimes even leave them whole.

Blend the tomatoes thoroughly; this is especially important if you are retaining the skins. I add my blended tomatoes to the pot as I go and keep blending in batches until they're done. If you are not going to cook your tomatoes, then you can pour them directly into freezer containers at this point. Don't forget to leave headspace in your containers!

Add the blended tomatoes to your pot, heat them up on medium for about 10-15 minutes and then turn them to low or medium-low until they are cooked down to a tomato sauce consistency. This takes a while depending on the temperature you choose. You really don't have to cook them at all, but I like to cook mine down because I don't have a ton of freezer space.

This is what it looked like after I cooked it down:

I cooked it a little longer than usual and ended up with something between tomato sauce and tomato paste. That works well for me, though, because I have tons of chicken broth and produce in my freezer right now and this will take up a bit less space. This batch of tomatoes gave me 2 3/4 quarts of thick sauce.

It took me under 20 minutes to prep the tomatoes from picking them to clean-up. I cooked them on low for a couple of hours, let the pan cool while we ate dinner and cleaned up the kitchen, then put the whole pot in the refrigerator to cool the rest of the way. I transferred the tomato sauce to freezer containers the next morning, making sure I left enough headspace.

Interested in saving some of your tomato seeds before preserving? Go here for directions.

Now I want to work on a lacto-fermented tomato-vegetable drink. Has anyone done this before?

Menu Plan Monday - September 27

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:00:00 +0000

I have been freezing a lot of produce and homemade chicken broth and I'm out of freezer space, so I am doing a lot of cooking out of the freezer this week!

Monday

Breakfast: baked oatmeal, apple slices
Lunch: sandwiches, carrot sticks
Dinner: Chicken Stir Fry
* from the freezer: cooked chicken, cooked brown rice, mixed vegetables

Tuesday

Breakfast: toast with peanut butter, orange slices
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Chick Pea Burgers & Tahini Sauce, crudite
* from the freezer: cooked chick peas

Wednesday

Breakfast: pancakes, apple slices
Lunch: pizza toasts (toast ww bread, put pizza sauce or fresh sliced tomato with Italian seasoning and mozzarella cheese on top; broil until cheese is melted)
Dinner: Beefy Enchilada Bake, steamed green beans
* from the freezer: ground beef, tomato sauce, green beans

Thursday

Breakfast: kefir smoothies, muffins
Lunch: sandwiches, carrot sticks
Dinner: Potato Sausage Chowder, salad
* from the freezer: sausage, corn, chicken broth (instead of water - I change this recipe a bit)

Friday

Breakfast: toast with peanut butter, apple slices
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Pasta with Creme Fraiche & Salmon, steamed broccoli
* from the freezer: chicken broth, broccoli

Saturday

Brunch: Applesauce Bread, scrambled eggs
Dinner: Crockpot Shepherd's Pie, salad
* from the freezer: ground turkey (I'm cooking up a few pounds of it and freezing extras) and mixed vegetables

Sunday

We usually eat a late lunch/early dinner after church and graze if we're hungry later. :-)

Breakfast: toast, hard-boiled eggs, fruit
Lunch/Dinner: Crockpot Chicken & Quinoa Stew
* from the freezer: cooked chicken & chicken broth

My menu plan calendar is available here if you are interested in seeing it. I keep that current each day when meals change (as they often do). It also includes daily cooking notes. I have it set up to send me an agenda via e-mail every day, which is very helpful.

For more menu plans, go to orgjunkie.com.

Menu Plan Monday - September 14

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:10:00 +0000

Monday

Breakfast: toast, hard-boiled eggs, orange slices
Lunch: grilled cheese sandwiches, sauerkraut
Dinner: Fast & Furious Chicken & Rice, salad

Tuesday

Breakfast: soaked oatmeal with banana slices
Lunch: PB & J, celery sticks or leftovers
Dinner: Potato & Corn Chowder

Wednesday

Breakfast: pancakes, apple slices
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Beef Enchiladas (the linked recipe is for chicken, but I'm using beef), corn

Thursday

Breakfast: kefir smoothies, muffins
Lunch: sandwiches, carrot sticks
Dinner: Lentils & Rice Casserole, salad

Friday

Breakfast: toast with peanut butter, apple slices
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Taco Soup

Saturday

Brunch: Applesauce Bread, scrambled eggs
Dinner: Mole's Favourite Deeper 'n' Ever Turnip 'n' Tater Pie, salad

Sunday

We usually eat a late lunch/early dinner after church and graze if we're hungry later. :-)

Breakfast: toast, hard-boiled eggs, fruit
Lunch/Dinner: Roast Pork Loin with Garlic & Rosemary, roast potatoes, salad

My menu plan calendar is available here if you are interested in seeing it. I keep that current each day when meals change (as they often do). It also includes daily cooking notes. I have it set up to send me an agenda via e-mail every day, which is very helpful.

For more menu plans, go to orgjunkie.com.

Tons of Free Math Videos

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:28:00 +0000

I believe someone posted a link to this website on the LivingMath! yahoo group a while back. I took a look at Khan Academy and was amazed at all of the math help available there.

Salman Khan, the founder of the website, has made YouTube videos for many math topics, from basic addition to calculus. These are basic chalk on blackboard style lectures, but the concepts are clearly explained and follow ordered lessons that are labeled by topic.

These videos would make a great supplement to a math program and might help students understand concepts they are struggling with. You might be able to use these as a basis for a custom-tailored math program along with other resources and practice problems. However, I am not a math expert. If anyone uses the videos this way, I would be interested to know how it works for you.

There are also SAT Prep videos that offer explanations of the problems in the practice tests of "The Official SAT Study Guide!" You will need the book. The Khan Academy SAT Prep page gives suggestions for using the book and videos.

Enjoy!

Summer Reading Programs and Contests

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:19:00 +0000

I like to give my children the opportunity to enter summer reading programs and contests. They all read quite a bit, but it's nice to have a little incentive sometimes. It's a bit late, but here are a few programs that I found this year (As always, check out the sites first to see if you are comfortable with having your children use them.):

Scholastic Summer Challenge - Kids sign up, take a quiz to get sorted into teams, log minutes read and read for a cause, Save the Children. At the end of the year, the winning reading team gets to choose which Save the Children U.S. program will receive a donation.

Summer Reading Splash - This reading program is hosted by HomeschoolBlogger and includes Splish's Blog, where children may share their reading lists, enter weekly contests and interact with others. Download the reading log for younger students here and for older students here.

Barnes & Noble - Children in grades 1-6 download a reading journal to keep track of the books they read and record their favorite parts. Return the completed form (8 books) to a local Barnes & Noble for a free book (books are pre-selected by age and based on local availability).

Don't forget to check your library! All of the libraries around us have summer reading programs with prizes.

Tornado Video

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:37:00 +0000

We studied tornadoes yesterday, and today I saw that Kris at At Home Science posted a video that shows inside the top of a tornado! I love it when that happens!

The team that recorded the video is from Vortex 2, a field research program studying tornadoes.

Here is the video:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Amazing, isn't it?

Free Writing Webinars

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:52:00 +0000

Tapestry of Grace is offering a free 2-hour mini-seminar on teaching your children to write by Marcia Somerville.

I own her Writing Workshop CDs, and I found these workshops to be extremely helpful! Marcia has a baby-step way of explaining how to teach your children to write that makes you feel like you are never behind.
It looks like this webinar is the same as the Writing Workshop that I own, but it is free! You do have to register, and "seating" is limited.

Here are the links to read a summary of each session and register:

Writing Workshop I: June 15, 3:00-4:00 pm (EDT)

Session 1 Registration and Workshop Summary

Session 1 Handout (pdf)

Writing Workshop II: June 15, 8:00-9:00 pm (EDT)

Session 2 Registration and Workshop Summary

Session 2 Handout (pdf)

Click here and go to the "Workshops" tab to keep up on all of the current webinars offered by Tapestry of Grace. You will find several virtual conference workshops available:

"Teaching with Tapestry of Grace"
"Introduction to Tapestry of Grace DE (Digital Edition)"
"Writing Workshop I"
"Writing Workshop II" (free download available - Windows Media Player needed)
"The Nearness of God is my Good" (free download available - Windows Media Player needed)
"Teaching Devotional Techniques to our Kids: a Toolbox Approach"

There are several handouts available for the various workshops:
Materials Download Page

These virtual conferences will be going on throughout the summer, so be sure to check back at this link to stay updated!

Enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday - May 4

noreply@blogger.com (Andrea) — Mon, 04 May 2009 22:49:00 +0000

I put my menu plan on Google Calendar with daily cooking notes and links to recipes. I have that set up to e-mail me an agenda every day. I also keep it current each day if I change meals. My menu planning calendar is available here if you are interested in seeing it.

Monday

Breakfast: oatmeal with homemade applesauce
Lunch: leftover chili on homemade ww tortillas
Dinner: Crockpot Chicken and Quinoa

Tuesday

Breakfast: green smoothies
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Curried Sprouted Lentils with a Ginger & Garlic Cilantro Sauce (this will be moved to Wednesday if the lentils & wheat aren't sprouted yet)

Wednesday

Breakfast: cooked millet
Lunch: salmon patties, celery sticks
Dinner: Garlicky White Bean Soup with Dark Greens

Thursday

Breakfast: green smoothies
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Crockpot Taco Soup (scroll down to "Thursday" for recipe)

Friday

Breakfast: kasha (I am going to try soaking and drying the buckwheat before toasting this time)
Lunch: leftovers or sandwiches
Dinner: spaghetti with meat sauce, salad

Saturday

Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: leftovers or sandwiches
Dinner: not sure yet :-)

Sunday

We usually eat a late lunch/early dinner after church and graze if we're hungry later. :-)

Breakfast: toast, hard-boiled eggs
Lunch/Dinner: grilled spareribs, baked potatoes, salad

For more menu plans, go to orgjunkie.com.